|
|
|
Written by asap
|
|
Wednesday, 23 August 2006 |
|
|
|
|
 |
Wish you were there? There.com offers social networking in virtual worlds.
|
One firm likens its service to “MySpace on a cell phone.” Others cast themselves as MySpace for seniors or MySpace for car enthusiasts or better-than-MySpace because it has 3D imagery.
Exactly how much MySpace-ization can the planet take? By the looks of things, get ready for ever-more products inspired by the runaway success of MySpace.com, the social networking Web site that boasts more than 100 million members.
“I don’t think ultimately there’s going to be room for everyone that’s coming on board, but there’ll be room for probably a fair amount of players,” says Ken Leebow, author of “1001 Incredible Things to Do on the Internet.”
Specifically, he sees room for sites that carve out niches in the vast online universe — if they play their cards right — such as CarSpace.com for automotive fans or Eons.com which is aimed at the over-50 crowd.
That’s because social networking sites are inherently useful to anyone who wants to discuss anything online, he says. “I think these sites are here to stay. I don’t think it’s a fad.”
Among the offerings in the growing field are:
AirG
This Vancouver-based firm offers social networking by cell phone, for people who aren’t sitting at a computer all day and instead use their phones as their main device to stay connected.
“You can chat, instant message, share blogs and photos, create profiles, all on a mobile phone,” says founder Fred Ghahramani.
Users are billed through their mobile service provider — participating carriers worldwide include Sprint Nextel, Cingular, Orange and Virgin Mobile — and AirG has 10 million users in more than 30 countries. It usually costs a few dollars a month. A recent poll found that 59 percent of users don’t have regular access to a personal computer.
There.com
At the Web site There.com, users create cartoon-like images or “avatars” of themselves, choosing everything from hair color to wardrobe to bust-line, then enter fully illustrated chat rooms in which their typed messages come out as word bubbles over their character.
There.com, based in Laguna Beach, Calif., launched three years ago and has 450,000 members, he says. Membership is free and the site is not yet making a profit.
It’s a safe, PG-13 world, There.com CEO Michael Wilson adds. The site screens all content — such as clothes and virtual neighborhoods — to ensure there is nothing obscene or in violation of copyrights.
New York Law School has even started teaching courses with the technology, in which the professor and students all appear as characters in a virtual classroom. “It’s less expensive than video conferencing,” says Beth Noveck, a professor at the school. “And if you stop paying attention” — say, by surfing the Web — “your avatar goes to sleep.”
Community Connect
Community Connect Inc., which runs a trio of minority-themed social networking sites, is actually older than MySpace.
It launched 1997 and features BlackPlanet.com, an online community for blacks; MiGente.com, which targets English-speaking Latinos; and AsianAvenue.com for the Asian community.
In addition to social networking, the sites also feature job listings from employers seeking to expand diversity — for which the employers pay to post.
Most services are free to users, though the dating feature has a base price of $19.95 a month.
The company has been profitable since 2002 but doesn’t release figures.
The sites offer a forum for people to discuss news and issues of interest to their ethnic and racial communities, which can differ greatly, says Benjamin Sun, president and CEO of the New York-based company.
“Our approach to it is, things online should help make things off-line easier.” | Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
|
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
